


Setting Sail

by foreos



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Aged Down Characters, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Author knows nothing about pirates, Because I wanted this to be a leaving reggie fic, Ben Hargreeves Lives, Bisexual Diego Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves-centric, Diego and Allison are the ultimate brotp, F/F, F/M, Five Hargreeves has an adult body, Gen, Grace Hargreeves is Human, Gratuitous amounts of sibling bonding, He's still buff though, It's also a pirate mystery, It's literally just however I want it to be, Luther Hargreeves Has a Human Body, M/M, No Incest, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Sibling Bonding, Swordfighting, The Hargreeves are pirates, The Hargreeves have issues, Theres no prejudice of any sort because I wrote this fic as an escape, They're like...twenty instead of thirty, Vanya Hargreeves is good at gambling, betcha you didn't think of THAT genre cross, but they did this anyways, historically innacurate, if there's any romance it'll be minor, they're on a pirate ADVENTURE, very brief appearance of Dave Katz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:49:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26111413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foreos/pseuds/foreos
Summary: Reginald Hargreeves was the notorious captain of the feared Umbrella Pirates- he was ruthless, mysterious, and fully untrusting of any and everyone. So untrusting, in fact, that his crew was made up of seven orphans, whom he picked up and raised as his own- there was no way they would betray their own father, after all.After the disappearance of his mother, Diego Hargreeves is restless- to the point where he decides to leave his family's ship in the middle of the night to find her. Accompanied by his sister, Allison, and armed with only his knives, determination, and guilt over leaving his other siblings behind, he sets out to find out what his father is hiding from them, and what really happened to his mother that night.(The Umbrella Academy Pirate AU)
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves/Raymond Chestnut, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Grace Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & The Hargreeves, Former Diego Hargreeves/Eudora Patch, Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves/Dave Katz, Number Five | The Boy & Luther Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves/Sissy Cooper
Comments: 31
Kudos: 36





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy, this is my self-indulgent pirate au.
> 
> A few things-  
> -Five looks to be the same age as the others.  
> -Luther has a human body, but he's still like...super buff.  
> -Ben is alive.  
> -This is a no powers au as well as a pirate au.  
> -I know this is historically inaccurate, I just don't care. This is super self-indulgent, so it's kind of just at a "whatever I say goes" stage.  
> -Any romantic relationships I do decide to include will be minor.  
> -All interactions between the Hargreeves are meant to be read as platonic.

_Captain Reginald Hargreeves._

That’s what they called him.

_Captain Reginald Hargreeves, the most feared pirate in all the land. A true leader, with more wealth behind his name than any other pirate of his time. Ruthless, fearless, and terrifying._

He had many titles, many names.

_The captain of the feared Umbrella Pirates, The World’s Richest Pirate, Ruthless Reginald_ \- all the glitz you’d expect from a famous pirate.

To Diego, though, he was ‘Dad.’ Even though he was anything but a father towards Diego, Captain Hargreeves had always been ‘Dad.’

Living with a notorious pirate for a father entailed many things that Diego was less than thrilled about- extremely hard physical labor, (which, he wasn’t really complaining about- Diego was tough, a little work was nothing. Still...he wouldn’t mind a break now and again) barely humane living conditions, constant mortal peril, and, worst of all, six siblings.

Given the fact that Captain Hargreeves despised children, it didn’t quite make sense that there were so many of them- free labor was free labor, though, and even if it involved picking up seven orphans off the street and raising them, Reginald was willing to do it.

The captain had trust issues, you see, always thinking that anyone he hired would stab him in the back (which honestly made sense- a pirate was a pirate, and there were plenty of reasons to betray Reginald.) He had decided that if he raised his own crew, detached from the outside world and its influences, and specifically trained them into the perfect crew, he’d be fine. Besides, a group of children with nowhere else to go would never betray their father, right? Plus, they worked for free.

Diego, though, was nineteen, going on twenty- and he was starting to grow tired of how his father treated them. He wasn’t a child anymore, and he hadn’t considered himself one for years. He was restless, and longing for independence.

Only a few of his siblings agreed with him, however.

“I don’t know-“ Luther said one day, in response to Diego once again bringing up leaving once again “Dad...saved us.”

“Bullshit.” Diego scoffed, looking away from him

Luther had been there the longest out of any of them- he barely remembered life before the Umbrella Pirates. Diego guessed he couldn’t blame him, but it was still aggravating as all hell. Dad has been manipulating Luther from a very young age, molding him into the model crewman. 

“You don’t have the guts to do it, anyway.” Five said, glancing up at Diego for the briefest of moments over his cards “Allison, if you put in that ring you took from that shop at the last port, I’ll throw in that rich lady’s hourglass.” 

“You worked too hard to get that thing from her- no way you’d gamble on it unless you have something good,” Allison replied 

“Worried?” Five asked smugly, and Allison rolled her eyes 

“I’m not taking the bait- I’m not Diego.” She said. Klaus snorted from the other end of the table, covering his mouth with his cards

“Good one, Ally.” He said

They were all sitting at the round, wooden table in the crew’s quarters under the ship. It was laid out to where there were seven bunks at one end, which were about the size of a decently sized closet, with just a hammock, trunk, and shelves in each bunk. Then there was a table and chairs, which was usually where they ate and played poker, gambling off their loot from various raids. Across from the table, there was about the closest thing to a washroom you could get on a boat. The whole area was pretty small, but it was the one area of the ship that was really and truly theirs.

Diego chose to ignore the two of them, instead of focusing on the game. Allison was right, Five had something good- he wouldn’t bluff on his hourglass. Vanya had put in her ornate teacup that she nabbed off a large trade ship- valuable, but not especially important to her. He looked down at his own cards, and his heart sank slightly- the only thing he had that was of interest was a pair of queens, which wouldn’t get him far against his siblings.

“Fold.” He said, placing his cards down on the table.

Ben, who was acting as the dealer, nodded, and then it was Vanya’s turn.

Vanya was one of Diego’s least favorite siblings to play against, simply because she had the best poker face out of any of them.

“If Five puts in the hourglass, I’ll put in the governor’s pocket watch.” She said, her face completely straight.

Five grinned, confident as ever “Deal.” He said

Klaus and Luther both folded, leaving just Vanya and Five- Diego was rooting for Vanya since Five could always stand to get brought down a few pegs.

Five smiled at Vanya “Sorry about this, Vanny.” He said, and revealed his cards, showing a full house “Shame.” He shrugged, leaning back in his chair

Vanya’s lips quirked up just a little, and Diego took great satisfaction in watching Five’s smile falter for a bit.

She flipped over her cards, revealing a straight flush. Klaus whistled lowly.

“Damn, Van.” He said, although she was always this good.

“Shame.” She mocked, “You can bring your stuff to my bunk after dinner.” 

“We ought to get you in real casinos,” Ben remarked, gathering and shuffling the cards to put them away

Vanya shrugged, still smiling a little, which was rare for her 

“Psh, Dad would never go for that.” Klaus scoffed, propping his feet on the table “Besides, what would she bet? The governor’s watch?” 

“People buy this stuff.” Ben said, swatting Klaus’s feet off “We eat here, asshole.”

“Ugh, the table gets cleaned.” Klaus rolled his eyes

“Still.”

“Don’t be such a prude, Benny.”

“I’m not- you know what, not worth it.”

Arguments like this tended to break out often, more often than not because they were just bored. There wasn’t much on the ship, and once they had finished the work for the day, they tended to pick fights with one another.

“Do you think we’ll get to do anything on Wednesday?” Luther asked, in a blatant attempt to change the subject.

“Doubt it.” Diego said, “It won’t be anything special.”

Wednesday would be their twentieth birthday- or at least, they decided it would be. None of them knew how old they were since they had all been orphaned, but Dad had guessed that they were all born about the same year. Since they didn’t know their actual birthday, they had just decided to celebrate it on the same day- October first.

“We might see mom,” Ben suggested hopefully, but it was Five who answered this time

“We won’t. Dad would never take us.” He said

A wave of sadness hit Diego at the mention of their mother, and he looked down at his hands, not saying anything. She was hard to think about, after what had happened.

Allison, who thought of herself as the “elder sister,” noticed Diego’s shift in mood, and shook her head at the others. Mom was a forbidden subject.

Allison had always been like that, even though none of them knew who the eldest actually was. She had only gotten worse about mothering the group since Mom had been gone. Allison was strong and extremely confident in herself and her abilities, but she was also unwaveringly stubborn. This, coupled with her, in Diego’s eyes, inability to leave her siblings to sort out their own problems, often led to her and Diego butting heads.

“I’ll get started on dinner.” She said quickly “Diego, come help me.”

Diego rolled his eyes, making a big show of getting out of his chair and pushing it back in with a loud bang. She ignored him, deciding not to take the bait, which only frustrated him more. Allison couldn’t cook, so it would really just be him cooking while she watched. If she tried to talk to him about feelings, though, he was leaving. 

Diego Hargreeves didn’t talk about feelings, and everyone knew it.

-

Dinner passed without incident, and without an appearance from their father, who ate alone in the captain’s quarters. They were seeing less and less of him and honestly, Diego wasn’t complaining. Captain Hargreeves only left his quarters to criticize his children and their work, and to raid various towns and ships they came across.

Diego went straight to his bunk after eating, without another word to his siblings- if he was going to do this, he had to do it tonight, without losing his nerve.

He closed the door behind him, locking it just in case one of the others decided to come in without knocking- Klaus had done that on numerous occasions.

He walked over to his trunk, moving around piles of strategically placed clothes and other knick-knacks, before pulling a sack to the top. Peering inside, he could see a few spare sets of clothing, a set of knives he’d nicked off some kid in a military town, and his life’s savings. There were two more objects at the bottom of the sack- A shard of smoothed-down sea glass, given to him by a girl he had kind of dated a few years back (it was debatable how legitimate his and Eudora’s relationship was- he had liked her, though, more than he had liked the other guy who had also slept with both Klaus and Allison, or the girl who pickpocketed him after they hooked up. So, he kept the glass.) and a bracelet that his mother had left behind. 

They were docking at a small town for the night, where Luther had gone in to pick up food and other necessities- it was the perfect place for what Diego wanted to do.

“Soon,” Diego whispered, before putting it all back.

What he didn’t know, however, was that someone had seen the whole thing, through a crack in his door, and knew exactly what he was planning.

-

It was late, Diego knew. Probably sometime around four AM, which was perfect.

He snuck onto the top deck, careful not to wake any of his siblings, or god forbid, his father. It was a loud night, with the sounds of the waves, the townspeople, and various bugs and birds covering up the sounds of his footsteps.

Diego made it to the railing of the ship, and looked out over the small town, hefting his sack higher over his shoulder. It was a small town, more of a village, really, with what looked to be a very fishing-heavy economy, although that was to be expected. There were a few houses and taverns littered here and there, all seeming to be owned by relatively poor people. The place wasn’t very well known, and it was the perfect place for someone to disappear in.

Diego took a deep breath, readying himself to leave the only life he had ever really known. He felt a little guilty, leaving the others behind and all. Sure, his father could rot in hell for all he cared, but his siblings were in the same boat he was- literally.

After successfully psyching himself up to going over, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Sorry.” A voice whispered, and Diego whirled to face them, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dark

“Allison?” He whispered, and she nodded.

“It’s not what you think-“ he started, but she shushed him harshly, shaking her head.

“I’m coming with you,” Allison said, and Diego could see she was carrying a sack of her own.

Diego looked at his sister, and then looked back at the town, and then back to her.

“We’d better get going, then.”


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They find shelter, ft. historically inaccurate clothing

They walked quietly through the night, staying out of the lights from fires burning in windows and whatnot. As the ship shrank in size behind them, Diego still couldn’t help but feel just a bit guilty about the five other siblings he was leaving behind- he knew, however, that he had to do this for himself.

He looked to his left at his sister, who was walking with her head facing straight forward, and her eyes darting up and down the streets and alleyways, just daring someone to try something.

Their current outfits weren’t very inconspicuous, Diego realized. They looked too much like pirates, and anyone with two brain cells to rub together could do the math. He had brought two other sets of clothing, but he doubted they were much better.

There was a small tool shed behind one of the houses, and Diego nudged Allison, gesturing towards it. She nodded wordlessly, and they both walked over to it. Diego pulled out one of his knives, making quick work of the lock, and the door opened up slowly with a long, eerie, creaking sound.

They both looked over the interior of the old, falling apart shed- it was pretty much empty, and looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for a few years. This was actually good news for the pair, as this meant the shed was probably abandoned.

“Still…” Diego thought, before gesturing at the doorway with his knife 

“After you.” He said, and Allison just rolled her eyes

“What a gentleman,” She said sarcastically, gingerly making her way in. The walls were rotted, and looked as if they’d fall apart if you touched them- plus, the whole place smelled of mold and grime.

Diego stepper in behind her, and closed the door, leading to them being awkwardly close together- the lighting in the shed was extremely dim, with only a hole in the roof providing faint starlight.

“I have better clothes.” Allison said, holding up her sack “Less obvious ones. For me, at least- I can probably get into a store without being noticed and grab something for you.”

“...you’ve thought this through,” Diego said dumbly, staring incredulously at his sister.

“Oh, uh- yeah.” She said, laying her sack on the dirt floor as a make-shift pillow “You aren’t the only one who’s sick of dad’s shit, you know. I’ve been planning for ages.” Allison laid down on the ground, removing her coat to use it as a blanket

“This exactly?” Diego asked, laying down in the small space next to her- they were pretty much right on top of each other, and the whole shed was clearly a one person place- they could make it work, though.

“I figured I’d be alone.” She admitted “But tonight was a good opportunity, and I could tell you were planning on leaving- strength in numbers, and all of that. Plus,” Allison dropped her voice to a low whisper “I’m looking for her too.” 

She then turned over onto her side, facing the wall instead of him. He huffed, turning over as well, his back pressed against hers- both out of the need for them to share body heat and because there just simply wasn’t enough room for them to spread apart.

Diego should’ve guessed that Allison would figure out his plan, in all honesty. She had this annoying way of always being right- at least, she did when it came to her siblings. She seemed to always know what was going on in his head, and it infuriated Diego to no end. 

No matter how frustrating he found Allison, though, he knew it was better if they stayed together. He would never say it out loud, but he was relieved that she came- Allison was a capable fighter and a good thief. She was reliable, and he knew that she probably wouldn’t ditch him when things got tough. She might’ve been overbearing, and in his eyes, annoying, but it was better for him to not be doing this alone- he would’ve left with or without her, though.

Diego closed his eyes, and let his exhaustion take over, knowing he and his sister had just severely altered the courses of their lives- for better or for worse.

-

When Diego woke up, he was alone. Allison’s coat- the one she was using as a blanket- was draped over him and it fell to the floor as he sat up.

“Allison?” He called out, jumping to his feet- he didn’t think she’d ditch him on the first day, and her sack was still on the floor of the shed, but how well did he really know Allison? Their family wasn’t the closest, and he couldn’t be sure that this wasn’t something she’d do. A lot of things still didn’t add up, though.

He looked around, before noticing a note pinned to the door with one of his knives.

“Dramatic.” He muttered rolling his eyes. Diego pulled the knife out of the door and grabbed the note before it fell to the ground.

_Hey,_

_Getting more supplies that may or may not be legally obtained. Not sure yet. Stay inside, for now, I’ll be back later._

_Allison._

Diego huffed out a short laugh, shoving the note into his pocket. He was a little annoyed that she’d gone out without him, but he tried not to dwell on it- he got angry easily, and he didn’t want to spend his first few days of freedom constantly angry at the world.

As much as he didn’t want to do what Allison said, he sucked it up and sat down on the ground of the shed. The sack he had brought was still sitting on the floor, and he pulled it into his lap. He rifled through his meager belongings, before finding Eudora’s sea glass.

Diego looked at the object, frowning slightly. His goal was to find his mother, yes, but he also wanted to find Eudora. They hadn’t seen each other in around three years, and he just...wanted to know that she was alive. There was a problem with that, though- they had split up on bad terms, to say the least, and he didn’t have the slightest idea as to where she could be. Plus, no one in his family knew about her, and she didn’t know about them. Diego knew his family would scare her off, and he didn’t need them butting into his personal life, so he hadn’t told them about each other.

He groaned in frustration- this was going to be a lot harder than it seemed when he was planning it out. Reginald had always told him he didn’t think things through effectively.

 _“You must be less impulsive, Number Two. You must use your head.”_ His father’s judgemental tone resounded through his head. Diego grimaced at the sound, and the words.

_Number Two._

His name was Number Two until he and his siblings were around six years old, as he was the second child Reginald had “adopted.” The day their mother had done away with the numbers, save for Five’s, had been a good one- their father still never used their names, though.

A light knock on the door startled Diego out of his thoughts, and he shoved the green shard of glass back into his sack.

“Diego? It’s me.” Allison’s voice called from the other side, and he hoisted himself up, pulling the door open.

She was wearing different clothes- an inconspicuous, grey dress which fell to her ankles, with white sleeves and a white collar, that he knew belonged to his mother. Out of the three women Diego had lived with, Mom was the only one who wore dresses- the long skirts would’ve made it hard for Vanya and Allison to get any work done, and while Vanya had never really been interested, Diego knew that Mom used to let Allison try on her clothes.

She was also holding another set of clothing, which he assumed was for him, and a sack bulging with various vegetables.

“These people are really easy to steal from,” Allison said, tossing the clothes at him

“They’re comfortable- Dad would’ve never thought to go after someone here.” He shrugged

“The farmer I took this from was still asleep.” She said “I doubt he’ll miss it, he had plenty. Go ahead and change, you look like a dirty pirate.”

“Isn’t that what we are?” Diego asked jokingly, moving to a corner in the shed to change

“Not me. I just used to live on a boat and commit larceny.” Allison laughed, turning around to give the illusion of privacy- they really needed to find a better shelter.

“Sure, Ally. Sure.”

He changed fairly quickly- she had gotten him a simple grey tunic, along with a plain brown coat and brown trousers. When he was finished, she turned to face him.

“I saw the harbor while I was out- if we hide out today, we can probably take one and get out of here in the middle of the night- no one would see us,” Allison explained, and Diego nodded

“You sure you aren’t gonna ditch me again in the morning?” He was half-joking, but he was still mildly annoyed

She grimaced, shaking her head rapidly.

“Sorry...should’ve told you.”

“Uh-huh,” Diego said, picking up her coat from where he’d let it fall to the floor, and throwing it to her. She put it on over her dress, creating a strange contrast of common folk and pirate- Allison made it work, though. 

“It worked out, though.” She said, shrugging. She pulled out two pieces of dried meat from the sack with food and handed one to Diego 

“This should be enough for a week and a half or so.” 

He nodded silently, before asking the question that had been on his mind since she got back

“Have the others left yet?” 

She shook her head “No, the ship’s still docked- we’ll have to stay in the shed until nightfall. They’ve already figured out that we’re gone.” 

Diego’s eyes widened at that “How do you know?”

Allison’s bright and assured demeanor dimmed slightly, and she frowned a little 

“Vanya was looking for us,” She started “I didn’t let her see me.”

The sentence hung in the air ominously, as both of them knew what that really meant- they were both committed to leaving the others behind, at least for the time being.

Diego felt...conflicted. On the one hand, there was strength in numbers. That had always been Reginald’s theory, with the surplus amount of children he had adopted. Plus, none of them would be stuck with their father anymore. On the other hand…seven people were a lot. He and Allison were struggling to find food and shelter for just the two of them, and it was easier for two people to hide. His plan had already deviated a lot with the addition of Allison, and bringing five others would throw everything off-kilter.

He had a feeling, though, that he would see the others again, sooner rather than later.

“I think,” Diego started, and Allison perked up “that it was Vanya looking for us. Not Dad making her do it- just Vanya.”

Allison nodded

“Maybe it was.”

Diego looked through the hole in the ceiling, towards where he knew the harbor was, and by extension, the rest of his siblings.

_Maybe it was._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment!


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanya has some thoughts, and Ben has an idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the repost. I’m not really sure what happened, but here’s the full chapter. Thanks for being patient with me!

Diego was more right than he could’ve known.

When the remaining Hargreeves woke up to find both Diego and Allison missing, Reginald was strangely unbothered by it.

“They’ll come back, eventually.” He had said to Vanya when she’d reported their disappearance “Number Two and Number Three will have their fun and return once they realize they aren’t prepared for the real world. The other five of you will remain on the ship and not go after your siblings.”

Vanya had bitten back any comment on that- she was outraged that he didn’t seem to care that two of his children were missing, but she had never really been one to stand up against Reginald.

“Yes, Father.” She had said, before walking back to her bunk, and finding Klaus lounging on her hammock.

“So...” He began, drawing out the ‘o’ sound “...how’d it go?”

He was rocking back and forth leisurely and flashed her an easy smile as if he was as unbothered by the situation as their father.

“He doesn’t care,” Vanya said stiffly, not meeting Klaus’s eyes.

The smile dropped from his face, and he sat up “Wait, wait, wait- so we all could’ve just...left, and the bastard wouldn’t have given a shit? Ally and Diego had the right idea, honestly-”

“Klaus!” Vanya snapped, grabbing his attention- Vanya didn’t snap at her siblings, no matter who they were.

“He thinks they’ll come back- I think he’s trying to make an example out of them.” She said

“...ah.” Klaus said, “That’s harsh.”

“Yeah…” Vanya sighed “I’m going to look for them. Dad said not to, but I’m going to. He won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“Well, are you coming back?” Klaus asked

“I…” She hesitated some “...yes. I’ll come back.”

“Alright- I wasn’t going to let you get rid of me that easily.” Klaus grinned, and Vanya gave him a small smile despite herself

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Klaus.”

-

Vanya crawled down the banisters of the ship, thinking that she was drawing no attention to herself- a voice from above, however, proved her wrong.

“Are you going too?” They asked, and Vanya jumped, nearly losing her grip

“Sorry.” They said, and Vanya looked up

“Jesus, Ben.” She said

“Are you leaving?” He repeated his question “Because, no offense, you look kind of unprepared.”

“I-no. I’m not.” She said, “I’m looking for Allison and Diego.”

Ben nodded, leaning over the railing so he could see her better “That’s fair.”

Things were awkwardly silent for a moment- Ben looked like he wanted to say something else, but Vanya’s hands were beginning to hurt from gripping onto the railings.

“Look, Ben, I’ve got to-” She started, but he cut her off

“Listen...I need you and Klaus to meet me in my bunk later tonight. It’s...it’s important.” He said, and she could tell it was serious from the look on his face.”

“Okay,” She said, and he turned around, effectively blocking her from the view of anyone who might see her leaving.

_Okay._

-

The town was small and barren. There were barely any people milling around, and it didn’t seem like anything of much significance could happen here. Vanya wandered around a bit, calling out her siblings’ names.

“Allison! Diego! Where’d you go?” She called out. She didn’t notice a woman in a grey dress sneaking out of a clothing store, nor did she notice when that woman stopped in the shadows of an alleyway, watching her intently.

A man ran out of the clothing store, looking around wildly, before stopping to stare at Vanya

“You! Sailor girl!” The man called, gesturing her over.

Vanya startled- he could only be talking to her, with her old weather-worn vest and general ragged appearance- at least he didn’t say pirate.

She walked over carefully, having never been one for impoliteness “Yes sir?” she asked him

“Have you seen a woman ‘round here? Tall, dark skin, grey dress? You ain’t from here either.” He asked

The description was pretty vague, but what he was describing sounded a lot like Allison.

“I- no, but I’m looking for one. Have you seen her?” She asked, trying not to seem too eager.

“Yeah, I’ve seen ‘er!” The man said, his tone annoyed “She came into my store and ran off without paying!” he said

“Well... did you see which way she went?” Vanya asked, and the man shook his head

“Your guess is as good as mine.” He grumbled

“Oh...thanks anyways.” She began to walk away

“If you find ‘er, bring ‘er back to me!” He called, before storming back into his store.

Vanya, of course, wasn’t going to do that- pirates didn’t turn in other pirates unless they had a grudge. Besides, it was the guy’s fault for letting Allison get away.

Vanya walked around aimlessly for a few more hours, calling out the names of her siblings every once in a while until it reached midday. She looked up at the sun, where it was higher than it had been all morning and then back at the little town.

“Fuck it...have your freedom.” She had said, waving at the rest of the island dismissively. She didn’t want to say it, but she was angry that they hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye.

If Diego and Allison wanted to ditch them all, though, what could she do about it? If they didn’t care, they didn’t care, and that was fine by Vanya. It was fine. She didn’t care. Everything was fine.

Vanya repeated this mantra to herself until she made her way back onto the ship, but she somehow couldn’t convince herself that she believed it.

-

The rest of the day was long and very difficult. Hargreeves hadn’t noticed her absence for the first half of the day- she honestly wasn’t sure that he ever paid attention to any of them. Luther and Five, on the other hand, both noticed. Luther didn’t say anything other than just giving her a silent nod when she came back, but Five pulled her aside.

“What were you doing?” He asked. He sounded on edge (at least, more so than usual), and very agitated.

“Looking,” Vanya said “I, uh...I needed to make sure I wasn’t going to find their bodies or anything.”

Five sighed, some of the irritation fading from his face “You couldn’t have told me? We’ve already had two siblings jump ship without warning.”

“Sorry.” She said, and she really did mean it. It was kind of hypocritical of her to be mad at Allison and Diego, but do the same thing they did to the others.

“I...I get it, though. I almost went out too, but I wanted to wait for you to get back.” Five said, “I could’ve gone with you, though.” He was still upset, but it seemed he was more upset with their missing siblings than with Vanya herself.

“I’ll tell you what,” Vanya said, “Next time someone else leaves in the middle of the night without telling anyone, I’ll bring you with me to look.” The statement was said jokingly, but she meant it- who knows, maybe she would’ve found them if she had brought Five with her.

“Promise?” Five asked- he was playing into the joke too, but there was a level of sincerity there as well.

“Promise.” She repeated

They did their usual work, preparing the ship to leave and whatnot until Captain Hargreeves announced that it was time for them to leave the island. Vanya wanted to say something about how they were now definitely leaving Diego and Allison behind, but she held her tongue- it wouldn’t do any good.

Later, Vanya leaned over the railing, watching the island shrink as they sailed away.

“There they go,” Klaus said, taking a swig of beer- they were all drinking that night, and both Klaus and Five seemed to be on their sixth.

“Think we’ll see them again?” Luther asked. There was a long pause as the remaining Five siblings glanced at each other- no one wanted to say it out loud.

“Maybe,” Ben said, after a few moments. Ben had always been like that, with hopeful maybes about their futures, about their mother, and now about their siblings. He never seemed to want to accept the fact that there could be a negative outcome, but he also never made any promises. Vanya had always thought that this was more to comfort himself than anyone else.

Five was lurching over the banister, having been silent the entire time “Doubt it.” He took a swig of his beer.

Ben recoiled a little, bit said nothing. It was quiet for a long time, until Luther cleared his throat and broke the silence.

“I’m uh...I’m gonna turn in for the night.” He said, before slumping off to his bunk.

Once he was gone, Ben turned and looked at the others.

“Come on,” He said, gesturing them back towards his bunk “I still need to talk to you.”

Vanya glanced back at the ever-shrinking island, and then back at Ben. She could tell that whatever it was, it was important to him, and she had some suspicion as to what it was.

“...alright.”

They walked over quietly, and she glanced at Klaus, who just gave her a helpless shrug. It wasn’t really like Ben to be this vague, and it was strange for him to be so secretive- plus, he hadn’t asked for Luther.

They entered Ben’s bunk, and he shut the door behind them quietly. Vanya had always liked Ben’s bunk- it was the same size as the rest of them, sure, but he had lined the shelves with various stolen books, books he wasn’t supposed to keep. One of Reginald’s rules was that if it wasn’t valuable, they shouldn’t bother taking it, and should throw away whatever the object was to save space- both Ben and Vanya had broken that rule, though.

She touched the spines of some of them now- when she was first taken by Reginald, she couldn’t read. None of them could. None of them, save for Ben. When they turned nine, he taught all of them. Vanya wasn’t really sure where he learned when they were little- once, when they were seven, Klaus asked him and he started crying. None of them brought it up again.

“So,” Ben started, sitting down on his trunk “...I’ve been...considering something.” He sounded unsure of himself

Klaus plopped down on Ben’s hammock “Oh? Do tell.” He said, rocking back and forth lazily 

Ben looked pensive, as if he was choosing his next words carefully. He stuck his hands in his pockets, and for a while the only sound was the steady _thump, thump, thump,_ of Ben’s boots against the trunk, the creaking of the hammock, and the waves crashing against the ship.

“...We should bail.” Ben said quickly, and Klaus’s rocking stopped

“Like...the four of us? Or all five of us?” He asked

“I don’t- I don’t know. I haven’t thought this through that much.” Ben said, staring down at his boots

Vanya stayed quiet; what could she say?

“I didn’t want to talk to Luther about it-“ Ben explained “He always shut down Diego whenever he’d suggest it.” 

“Ditch him.” Five said. He was steadily drinking, and had been quiet for the most part.

“Really?” Vanya asked, unimpressed. Five just shrugged- she honestly thought he could be at least a little bit more tactful about it.

“No, No, he’s got a point.” Klaus said, waving his hand at her

“...you both suck. I hope you know that.” Vanya said. She could kind of see where they were coming from, but it just felt wrong.

“I’m just saying.” Klaus put up his hands in surrender “I mean...I don’t like the idea of leaving him behind. But...god, this sounds terrible...it might be easier?” 

Five nodded “Allison and Diego only got out because it was just the two of them. They’ll need less resources, and they’ll be harder to find.” 

Klaus nodded quickly, as though that made perfect sense to him, and Ben, who still hadn’t looked up at any of them, spoke up 

“Following that logic, this group is too big.” He pointed out

“Huh.” Klaus said, and his rocking slowed down. They all looked at each other, the unspoken question hanging in the air

“Well...someone can stay behind with Luther while the other three leave. Then, they can leave together.” Vanya suggested quietly

“...any volunteers?” Klaus asked. No one wanted to stay with Reginald any longer, and the work would be even harder with five out of seven of them gone. Eventually, Five spoke up

“I’ll stay.” He said, taking another swig 

Vanya’s brain stopped- out of all of them, Five was the one she’d think would be the most willing to leave 

“Because,” Five said “I can push Dad off your trail from wherever you get off. I don’t trust any of the three of you to be able to do that- no offense.”

“Much offense taken.” Klaus said, and Five rolled his eyes

“Luther and I can meet you three on a separate island later.” He said 

“That makes sense, but uh-“ Vanya started, but Five cut her off

“You’re right. It makes sense.” 

“...asshole.” Vanya said quietly, to which Five kicked her in the ankle

“Well...that settles it, I guess.” Ben said suddenly. For the person whose idea it was, he didn’t seem all that confident.

“Where would we get off?” Vanya asked, bending down to rub her ankle

“Dalton Island.” Klaus said abruptly, and they all turned to look at him

“...why?” Five asked

“...is that where D-“ Ben started, but Klaus reached over and slapped a hand over his mouth, causing Ben to roll his eyes

“There’s casinos there. Vanya can gamble, and we can make money.” He explained away quickly. “Plus, we’ll be there in a couple of days.” That clearly wasn’t the full answer, but it worked for now.

“Alright. Dalton it is.” Ben said, moving Klaus’s hand away

They all dispersed, and as Five was walking to his bunk on the other side of the hall, Vanya stopped him

“Are you sure about this?” She asked, and Five looked thoughtful for a moment

“...Not at all.” He said “Goodnight.”

Five then promptly shut the door, leaving Vanya alone

“...asshole.” She said, because her ankle still hurt, and because she was going to be separated from even more of her siblings.


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which shit gets real, ft. Allison being a bad medic.
> 
> Trigger warnings include  
> -Fires and burning  
> -Poorly taking care of an injury  
> -Sickness  
> -Injury

It was a dark night, without a star in the sky- perfect for a late-night boat theft. 

Allison walked in front of him and held a dim lantern in one hand, and Diego’s hand in the other- he didn’t want to at first, but it was dark, and Allison had the light and she knew what the best way to the harbor was. However humiliating it might’ve been, it was better for them not to get separated. It was still Allison’s idea, though.

“Two hundred seventy-one, two hundred seventy-two, two hundred seventy-three...” Allison whispered, having been counting their paces the whole time, and by this point was a little bit breathless

Diego hoisted their sacks higher onto his shoulder with his free hand, and glanced behind them one more time- he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being followed. Allison, feeling him turn, stopped. She squeezed his hand tighter.

“Is someone there?” She whispered

Diego’s eyes narrowed as he looked around, and he hunched his shoulders and neck up some, as though he was making a bigger wall between the possible danger and his sister, despite Allison being a capable fighter.

After about forty-five seconds of silence, and a lack of movement from whatever might or might not have been there, Diego shook his head

“No.” He said, and Allison nodded wordlessly, before turning to continue their trek

“Two hundred ninety-eight, two hundred ninety-nine, three hundred…” 

They continued on for a while, with only the sound of Allison’s counting and their steady footsteps, and the dim light of the lantern and the moon. A few times, Diego thought that he heard something, but quickly disregarded it.

By the time Allison made it to one thousand, three hundred and eighty-four, there was the unmistakable sound of someone’s foot slipping on one of the wet stones behind them. Both Allison and Diego froze, their grips on the other’s hand tightening

“What was that?” Diego whispered, whipping his head back to look behind them. Allison raised her lantern mutely, her hand shaking a bit as she went. Diego itches for his knives, but they were at the bottom of his sack, and fully unreachable.

By the time the lantern was high enough for them to see the path behind them, there was only a second for Diego to see a burly looking man running towards them, before said man tackled Diego to the ground, pushing him away from Allison.

“Diego!” She yelled, going to move towards him, but the man blocked her path

“There ya ‘re, ya dirty thief!” The man yelled, pointing at her

 _“Ah. Karma.”_ Diego thought. This had to be the shopkeeper Allison had stolen the clothing from.

He was a short man, but he was muscular, and he was limping on his ankle from when he had slipped. He had just gotten a lucky shot by surprising them- or at least, that’s what Diego told himself.

He quickly assessed himself- he had hit the ground hard, but he didn’t land on any rocks and had just gotten the wind knocked out of him. He looked over to where Allison and the shopkeeper were standing a few feet away- the shopkeeper’s back was towards him, as he threw blind punches and kicks at Allison that she easily parried or dodged. He wasn’t letting her get any hits of her own in, though. 

Diego rummaged through his sack and pulled out one of his knives. Holding it at the ready, he stood up and slashed at the man’s back. The shopkeeper howled in pain, and struck out blindly, knocking the lantern from Allison’s hand, and pushing Diego back onto the ground.

The lantern, by some horrible luck of theirs, hit a patch of dry grass, which quickly ignited into flames. Diego rolled onto his back and cried out in pain as the fire made contact with his arm.

He heard Allison yell out his name, but he couldn’t respond as he moved as far as he could away from the fire, clutching his injured arm. 

He heard a few grunting and banging noises, and when he opened his eyes, it was bright again, thanks to the fire. His vision was blurry from the pain, but he could see the vague shape of Allison running over to him, both of their sacks slung over her shoulder. She seemed mostly unharmed, save for a trail of blood coming down from her busted lip.

“Diego, we have to go, come on-“ She said hurriedly, and grabbed onto Diego’s arm, hoisting him to his feet. He ran blindly after her, hoping she knew where they were going.

They made it to the harbor, both out of breath and in pain, but there nonetheless. 

“That one,” Allison said, mostly to herself as she pointed at a decently sized boat- at least, decently sized for two people.

The fire was spreading to the town, and people were running out of their homes, and hurrying to put it out.

Diego inhaled sharply “God, what did we do?” He asked, and Allison shook her head

“Not our fault, not our fault-“ She repeated, pushing him onto the boat, and quickly untied it. This was the most panicked Diego had ever seen her, he realized, as she always maintained a calm front. It probably had something to do with them indirectly burning down a town and her injured brother- that was enough to freak anyone out, even one Allison Hargreeves.

The boat began to sail away from the town, where it was engulfed in flames- it looked like the villagers were putting it out quickly enough, and the whole place would probably be fine, but the whole thing would cost the town a fortune. 

Diego was sitting on a hard, wooden bench, watching the destruction they left behind them. Allison was pacing back and forth as the boat moved away, before stopping and turning towards him.

“Come on.” She said, grabbing onto his good arm and pulling him towards a door that he assumed was to the cabin of the boat.

There seemed to be only one bunk, as there was just one bed in the corner of the room- one of them would wind up sleeping on the floor.

Allison pushed him towards the bed, and Diego scowled at her.

“Stop manhandling me.” He grimaced, sitting down and glaring at her.

“Sorry.” She said, but he could tell she didn’t really mean it. Her hands were still shaking with the adrenaline from the fight, and he was still clutching his injured arm “Take your coat off.” She said, and Diego rolled his eyes.

“As you wish,” He said sarcastically. He was able to get the sleeve off of his good arm, but when it came to the injured one, he struggled a bit. When Allison moved to help him, though, he glared at her again

“I can take it off myself, thank you very much,” Diego said, and she rolled her eyes- that was probably a good thing, in all honesty. If she was annoyed with him, she wouldn’t be panicking.

“Yes sir.” She said sarcastically. After a bit more struggling, he managed to get the coat off while irritating as little of the skin as possible. There was a large hole in the coat from where he had been burned, which felt like an extra punch in the face, as it was the clothes that started this.

“Let me see,” Allison said, sitting down next to him. She grimaced as she prodded at his arm, and Diego could honestly see why- it was an ugly burn, taking up most of the room on his forearm, and the skin was already peeling and blistering as it tried to heal.

“Gross.” Allison said like he knew she would “This is gonna leave a scar.” 

“Fantastic.” He said- he already had plenty of those. 

“What were you thinking?” She asked, pulling a roll of bandages out from her sack (it seemed like Allison had apparently thought of everything.)

“Uh, that that guy was gonna kill you?” Diego said, “You’re welcome, by the way.” 

“Oh yeah, thanks for doing something stupid without thinking. Thanks for endangering yourself when I had him.” Allison rolled her eyes, bandaging his arm with more force than necessary

“You didn’t ‘have him’-“ Diego said, narrowing his eyes “You were fucked.” 

“Sure, sure.” She said dismissively, which only served to anger Diego even more

“We clearly remember the fight differently.” He said, pulling his arm away. Allison finally looked up at him again, a scowl on her face

“Really? Maybe we do. Because what I remember is you blindly slashing the guy, and then rolling into a fucking fire and burning the shit out of your arm-“ She berated, before standing up 

“I’m gonna watch the helm. Don’t lay on your arm. Goodnight.” Allison then stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Diego sighed heavily, staring at the door for a long time after she left. He could hear her pacing outside, muttering to herself about her “asshole brother” and “burnt villages” and “Why do I even try?”

Eventually, he turned away from the door. His head was still fuzzy from the pain, and his vision was still blurred. The rocking of the boat made him feel nauseous, which was strange for someone who had spent almost their whole life on a ship. Diego knew that fevers often came after burns got infected, which was honestly the last thing he needed at the moment. Plus, three days into freedom, he was already burnt, fighting with his sister, and had ruined a perfectly good town.

It was then that Diego realized he was very tired, and laid down on the bed on his stomach, as though that would quell the nausea. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to just fall asleep despite being in a lot of pain.

Eventually, his exhaustion outweighed his discomfort, and he fell into a fitful sleep.

-

When Diego woke up again, the lanterns in the cabin were extinguished, and the covers, which he had fallen asleep on top of, were now pulled over him.

“Allison.” He realized dumbly. His head had cleared up a bit more, but his nausea had increased, and his arm was still throbbing.

He somewhat remembered the argument they had had earlier, and now that he had a bit more clarity, Diego could kind of see where she was coming from- he wasn’t going to apologize to her, but a small part of him wanted to know where she was.

He propped himself up with his good arm, squinting his eyes in the darkness. He wasn’t sure what time it was, or how long he had been out, but it didn’t really matter to him. 

“Allison?” Diego called out quietly, not really expecting a response. He worked his way onto his feet, thankful he had burned and arm and not a leg.

Diego stood, hoisting himself up by clinging to the bedpost, thankful that it was bolted to the wall. His whole body felt hot, and he was sweating immensely- the fever had taken hold.

He heard a noise come from behind the door and tensed up, not sure what to expect in his fevered state.

Bright light streamed in, to bright to be the same light from the night they left the island. Allison entered, her eyes widening upon seeing him

“Oh my god, sit down.” She said, walking over and lightly pushing him onto the bed. Diego grunted, falling back into a sitting position.

“What the hell, Diego?” She asked, pressing a hand to his forehead

“Nice to see you too.” He mumbled, unconsciously leaning into her cool touch

“Uh-huh. Welcome to the land of the living.” Allison tsked “You’ve been asleep for like...day and a half.”

“...s’rry.” Diego slurred, and Allison paused

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.” She said. She began to maneuver him so that he was sitting up while leaning against the pillow and the bed frame. Despite his earlier complaints about being manhandled, Diego didn’t say anything, which just showed how out of it he was- his earlier assumption about having a more clear head was wrong.

Allison wrung out a cloth that she had left soaking in cold water above a bucket next to the bed and placed it on his forehead “This’ll help draw the fever out. I just need you to not be a moron not try to stand up again.” 

Diego just hummed in response, closing his eyes. He definitely wasn’t mad anymore, and she didn’t really seem to be mad at him.

“I have to go. Yell if you need me.” Allison said and stood up.

As she got closer to the door, Diego opened his eyes

“Allison?” He said

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

Allison was quiet for a bit, and for a while, Diego thought she was going to fire back with a snarky response, like the two of them always did. But, surprisingly, she did the opposite.

“Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> allison’s like *slaps a bandage onto a burn wound* it’s safe.
> 
> anyways please comment because i crave validation and attention.


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three of the siblings arrive at Dalton, ft. one David Katz + others

Luther Hargreeves was...dealing. He was coping. Everything would be fine. 

It started when Diego first suggested running away. Luther knew that Number Two would never, could never, think a plan through enough to go through with it. He had always just dismissed him and hoped he wouldn’t do anything stupid (which, in Luther’s eyes, Diego was prone to doing). He never thought that he would team up with Allison, though.

If Allison liked to think of herself as the elder sister, Luther thought of himself as the elder brother (although, they were all pretty sure Five and Allison were older than him. It was what he liked to think, though), and he felt like he was somewhat responsible for Diego and Allison’s disappearance. They left in the dead of night, just like their mother, and Luther felt like he should have suspected it.

The last straw, though, was when he woke up and the only people onboard were Five, himself, and his father. 

Reginald, despite his apathetic exterior, was clearly growing frustrated.

“Number One, do explain to me how you not only lost track of not only Number Three and Number Two, but you were also evaded by your three least adept siblings?” The captain asked, wrinkling his nose in disdain

Luther frowned a little at his assessment of Vanya, Klaus, and Ben, but pushed down any comments he had- Luther was a people pleaser, and he didn’t want to get even more on his father’s bad side.

“I-they just, I don’t-“ He stuttered, which was probably worse than any answer he could’ve given his father. Reginald used to be furious when Diego would stutter, and Luther was just falling more and more in his eyes.

“I let them go.” Five cut in and Reginald turned to him

“Why?” He asked, his tone clipped, and his steely gaze now one hundred percent fixated on Five, and not Luther

“You.” Five said, voice level and calm. Luther didn’t miss the slight trembling of his hands, however.

“Mm.” Reginald hummed “Your disrespect is unacceptable, Number Five. You will be punished accordingly for it.” He said, before turning, and leaving the two of them alone

“Why’d you do that?” Luther asked, looking down at his brother- At this point, Five barely reached his elbow.

“It’d be worse for you than it is for me.” Five said dismissively

“Ah...okay,” Luther said, still a bit bewildered 

“‘You will be punished accordingly,’” Five mimicked “Christ, we’re almost twenty.” He said, annoyed

Luther was then hit with a sudden realization “You’re going too, aren’t you?” He asked, resigned

Five smiled slightly, but there was nothing behind it “We aren’t kids anymore- we don’t need to stay with our dear father forever.” He said, leaning over the railing of the ship, much like they all had a few days earlier

“Are you gonna meet up with the others?” Luther asked, “I’d hate for you to have to be on your own.” He said

Five raised an eyebrow “Not sure about Allison and Diego, but I have plans with the others.”

Luther nodded wordlessly. He wasn’t surprised the others had made plans without him- he probably wouldn’t have included himself either “That’s good for you four.” He said

“Uh-huh…” Five was weirdly staring at him, and Luther turned to him

“What?” He asked

“You’re a moron.” Five said, turning back to face the water

“Wow, thanks,” Luther said. Of course, he was stuck with the asshole brother.

“...you really haven’t figured it out, huh?” Five asked

“I- sorry?” He said

“You’re coming with me, dumbass.” Five said, and Luther was taken aback

“I- me? Why?” 

“Well, you’re not staying here alone. Contrary to popular belief, we don’t hate you.” He said

“I know, but-“ Luther was just kind of confused because he didn’t know. He didn’t know that they didn’t hate him.

“Just, hush, this is kind of sad. We’re getting off at the next town, and then we’ll meet the others at Dalton. Be ready for that. 

And with that, Five walked away, off to his bunk to do who knows what.

Luther sighed, staring down at the water. He didn’t remember his life before the Umbrella Pirates, that was true, but maybe he should live some other life. He had never liked stealing from people, and he definitely didn’t like attacking people- he could fight, sure, but he didn’t like it.

This was...a good thing. That’s what he told himself- this was a good thing, and they’d all be alright. 

It was all alright.

-

As mad as she was at them, Vanya was so glad that Allison and Diego had the guts to leave. Otherwise, she didn’t think she’d ever get off that damn ship.

She had only been to Dalton Island a few times, and she had never been to a real casino there- she’d robbed casinos, but she’d never gone there to gamble.

They had sorted everything out- the night before, they’d jumped ship while docked there. Klaus had been...strangely prepared, in Vanya’s eyes. He had normal clothes, money, the works...it was kind of suspicious.

“I cannot talk enough about this place,” Klaus said cheerily, swinging his arm from where he had linked it with Ben’s.

“We’ve only been here a couple of times, Klaus,” Vanya said

“Trust me, Van, there are things I do that you people don’t know about.” He said

Ben rolled his eyes “He sneaks out here a lot- literally any time we’re close by, he goes to Dalton.” 

Klaus sighed dreamily “I do.”

“And how do you know about this?” Vanya asked, looking at Ben

Ben sighed “The first time he snuck out, he told me so I’d know where he was in case he died.” 

Klaus laughed, a full sound that caused him to throw his head back “I did!”

He linked his arm through hers, effectively pinning both her and Ben to his sides “Alright, so smart people, what’s the first order of business?” Klaus asked

“Well...we pawned enough extremely suspicious stolen objects to be able to afford a place to stay, so maybe that?” Ben suggested, and Klaus nodded

“Yeah, people here don’t care about stolen objects. There’s an inn close by that we can probably afford. Hopefully? Maybe? I’ll make it work, don’t worry about it.”

“That’s not reassuring,” Vanya replied 

“Shh, I got this. I know a guy.” He said

“You’d fucking better,” Ben muttered

“You wound me, Benjamin- truly, you do.” 

They made their way down the street, with Vanya almost getting trampled a couple of times (“You wanna ride on my shoulders?” “Fuck no, Klaus.”) and eventually came across a more toned down stone building. The sign hanging above the door read “Katz Family Pub and Inn.” Klaus released his siblings’ arms and pushed open the door with a flourish

“I’m home!” He sing-songed, and a man about the same age as them looked up from where he was wiping down the bar.

“Klaus!” He exclaimed, smiling brightly

“Heyyyyy, Davey!” Klaus said, rushing over to him. They embraced, and before they let go of one another, Klaus pressed a quick kiss to the man’s lips.

“I’m working, Klaus.” He said, but he was smiling nonetheless

“And I’m not! So it evens out.” Klaus said

“No it- nevermind.” Dave sighed “It’s good to see you.”

“I know~” Klaus winked, and Vanya turned to look at Ben, tired already

“Horrible line. Never do that again.” Ben said, annoyed 

Vanya laughed quietly, and Klaus turned around, seeming to have forgotten they were there

“Right, right, right- guys, this is Dave. Dave, these are my younger siblings.” Klaus said, resting his elbow on Ben’s head for emphasis

Ben swatted him away “Both of us are definitely older than you.” He argued

“We don’t know that~,” Klaus said, “I’m taller than both of you, so that’s what we’re gonna go by.”

“You’d only be older by like, days, so-“ Vanya started, but Klaus waved his hand at her

“It’s the principal, Van. And anyway, we can’t be sure, but I decided already without your input, so suck it up.” Klaus finished, before looking back at Dave

“Anyways, we require beds for three at your fine establishment.” He said, before throwing a pouch of coins they had gotten from the last pawn shop they were at “This’ll probably cover it.”

“Klaus, I love you, but I can’t accept vague bags of coins.” Dave said, before sighing and dumping the bag out on the bar “For how long?” He asked

“...we’re not sure. We’re supposed to wait for two others.” Ben spoke up, and Vanya nodded

“...I can charge by the night.” Dave said, after much consideration, and Vanya knew he was just doing them a favor. He and Klaus were obviously together, so it made sense.

“Thanks.” Klaus said, before dropping his over-jovial tone “It’s been kind of a rough few days for all of us...finally ditched the bastard.” 

“I mean...that’s a good thing, right?” Dave asked, gathering the coins back up and taking a portion for himself 

“It is, it is, but uh...we’re kinda homeless now? So that isn’t fun.” Klaus laughed a little, but there wasn’t any humor “There are other things, too, but that one’s a biggie.” 

“Tell you what…” Dave said, resuming wiping down the bar “I could probably convince my Uncle to let me throw you guys a job or something...nothing big, but it would be...something.” 

Vanya glanced at her brothers. As much as she didn’t like the idea of taking handouts from Klaus’s apparent secret boyfriend, they didn’t have any other options- besides, it seemed like it would only be temporary.

She nodded mutely at the other two, and Klaus smiled widely at Dave “That sounds great- we really do appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem-“ Dave shrugged, before smiling a little at Klaus “Besides...what kind of a person would I be if I left my partner in a shitshow?” He said, and they interlaced their fingers briefly before Dave pulled away

“There’s a room with two beds upstairs that you two can take,” He said, addressing Ben and herself. It was pretty obvious where Klaus would be staying, so she didn’t mention it.

“You heard the man! Shoo.” Klaus said, waving a hand at them dismissively

Ben rolled his eyes “You can do better.” He said to Dave, before walking up the stairs. Vanya waves at both of them, before quickly following behind him.

“I wasn’t expecting Klaus to have a partner, and I definitely wasn’t expecting him to be a normal person,” Vanya said, hurrying to catch up with Ben

He laughed a little, which was nice because he didn’t do that often “I know- whenever Klaus told me about him, I was convinced he wasn’t a real person.”

“He’s a nice guy, though,” Vanya said, and Ben nodded 

“Super nice. Almost too nice.” 

“You sound like Five.” She said

“Yeah, yeah...I think one of us having a stable relationship is just a weird concept to me.” Ben said. They eventually reached the door, and Ben opened it to reveal a relatively plain room, with two beds, two dressers, and a table with a small oil lamp. The windows were big enough to let in the lights of the city, so they just left it unlit.

“It explains why he was so passionate about going to Dalton.” Vanya shrugged, setting her sack down on one of the beds.

“I mean...it was a good call. We’d probably be sleeping outside or something if Dave didn’t help us.”

“...true.” She said, “How long do you think it’s gonna take Five and Luther?” She asked, changing the subject

Ben sat down on the adjacent bed “Hm...maybe two weeks? It depends on where they get off.” He said

Vanya nodded, breathing out slowly. She could wait two weeks for them- she didn’t like how split up she and her siblings were, and she wanted to have as many of them together as possible. Despite her anger at Allison and Diego, Vanya was hoping that once everyone who was left was gathered together again, they could find them- partly because she wanted to know if they were alive or not, and partly so she could chew them out. Both were reasonable motives, in her eyes.

“Eventually, Dad’s gonna flip his shit,” Ben said, leaning back so he was lying across the bed with 

“Definitely.” She said, before adding with a bit of hesitation “I hope it kills him.”

“...same.”

-

It was around six pm when Ben and Vanya came down for the free meal that came with their room. Klaus was still sitting at the bar with Dave, and other than them, the only other occupants were a woman wearing a blue tunic, who was also at the bar, a woman with bright red shoes eating in the corner of the room, and a man in a suit sharing a table with her.

“I am...so tired.” The woman in the blue tunic said, and Dave poured her a drink

“Well, firstly, our beloved mayor has bestowed all of the paperwork regarding the fire on Codside to her already drowning assistant- me - and I have to singlehandedly help these people build their town back up. I’m doing what I can because god knows what’ll happen to those people if I don’t, but I feel like I’m the mayor, and not her.” She said, taking the glass thankfully

“You’d do better than her!” The woman with red shoes supplied cheerfully, and the mayor’s assistant sighed

“Don’t let her hear you say that Lila- she’ll think I turned her daughter against her.” She said, and Lila just laughed

“Eudora, did you say Codside?” Klaus interrupted, to which blue tunic, Eudora, nodded

“Yeah, why?” She asked

“I just- it’s nothing. So...the whole town just...went up in flames?” He asked

Vanya looked at Ben as the realization his her- Codside was the little island where Allison and Diego had jumped ship. If the town had burned down, there was a chance that they might’ve been killed in the fire.

“Yes!” Eudora exclaimed “And they don’t even know what caused it. I’m thinking an arsonist, but I’m not sure.” 

“...were there any deaths?” Vanya spoke up, her voice soft and unsure

“Uh…” Eudora started “Just one that I know of. The local clothes shop owner- he had a big gash on his back, and he was right where the flames started- he might’ve been the arsonist.” She said

All three Hargreeves breathed out a slight sigh of relief, but Vanya was still a little rattled- she remembered speaking to the shopkeeper, and he had been looking for Allison. Plus, the gash on his back pointed towards Diego- her siblings definitely had a hand in burning down a village.

There was a long stretch of silence before Dave broke it “Give me a second to get your food.” He said, before hurrying into the kitchen behind the bar. They sat down, and Klaus strode over, sitting across from them.

“How’re you two holding up?” He asked, back to his overly happy self- Vanya didn’t buy it for a second, though.

“Well-“ Ben started, but Klaus quickly cut him off

“Before you say anything, I don’t think a fire is what’s gonna do Allison and Diego in.” He said

“...that’s not what I was gonna say,” Ben said, annoyed

“Ah. Then continue.”

“...thanks. Anyways, I was just going to say that you seem to have plenty of friends.” Ben said, gesturing around the room. There were only three other people, plus Dave in the kitchen, but it was the thought that counts.

“Oh, you don’t even know the half of it. That one over there, at the bar?” Klaus said, gesturing at Eudora “Diego’s ex. They dated for a whole year, somehow- she dumped him when Diego kept fucking with stuff around town.” 

“And that one, with the red shoes? The mayor’s daughter. I don’t know much about her, but she’s cool, I guess. I’m pretty sure she and Diego hooked up.” He shrugged “And this last one-”

“If he’s another one of Diego’s romantic prospects, I don’t want to hear it.”

Klaus rolled his eyes “That’s Ray- he and Allison dated a while back, but Dad found out and said he was too much of a ‘distraction.’ He’s a good dude, and he doesn’t want to fuck Diego.” He said

“...ah. Still into one of our siblings, though.” Ben said

“Yep!” Klaus said, popping the ‘P’ “Everyone on Dalton is in love with our family- why, I have no clue.” 

It was silent for a bit, almost insufferably quiet until they were eventually saved by Dave’s arrival. He placed their plates down in front of them

“That should be about everything- have a good night.” He said, before returning to his place behind the bar

Vanya picked at her food, her appetite pretty much gone, while her brothers chatted idly about things she didn’t really care about.

Sure, things were going well, for now. At least, for the three of them. They had beds, food, shelter, potential jobs- things looked good.

She could only hope her other siblings were in the same state.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dunno if you can tell but I really struggle with writing Luther, and the various love interests. Also, apparently everyone who's into a Hargreeves likes to hang out at the same bar, coincidentally owned by someone dating a Hargreeves. Confusing? Yeah.


	6. VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A decision is made by Allison and Diego, ft. one Lila Pitts

Diego’s recovery went by quickly enough- the days all blended together until eventually his fever broke and the pain in his arm wasn’t so unbearable.

Allison had done what she could- she wasn’t a healer, by any means, but her first aid was better than whatever Luther or Five could do.

Diego leaned against the railing of the boat, his heavily bandaged arm hanging limply by his side- no nerve damage, but it was better to refrain from moving it too much. At least it wasn’t his throwing arm.

Allison stood at the helm, idly humming as she watched the water ahead of them. Suddenly, she turned to look at him

“Where the hell are we even going?” She asked, and Diego paused

“...huh.” He said, “We really didn’t think about that, did we?” 

He and Allison stared at each other for a moment, before she burst out laughing

“We really-“ she gasped out “we really didn’t- oh god, we suck at this-“

Diego allowed himself a small laugh, if only because of the sheer absurdity of the situation, before waving his hand at Allison to signal her to stop. 

Allison heaved, leaning on the helm for support, and looked at her brother

“Well?” She asked, “We need to go somewhere soon- our rations won’t last forever, and sooner or later we’ll need, y’know, money and shit.” 

Diego considered this for a moment; he had an idea of where they could go, but it was a last resort- it ran a ton of risks, but it might be their only option.

“Well...I know someone. She might...be willing to help. Might.” He said, and Allison rolled her eyes

“Wow, that gets my hopes up.” She said “Who is this, anyways? An ex?”

Diego cringed a little “Uh...yeah.”

This seemed to peak Allison’s interest, as she stared at him intently “What’s her name?” She asked eagerly

Diego looked away from her “...Lila.” He said.

Allison smiled brightly “Can’t wait to meet her.” She chirped “Uh...where do I steer?” 

“She lives on Dalton...her mother’s in charge of that whole western district of islands, so she’ll probably have access to records we can use to track down mom.”

Diego didn’t notice how Allison bit her lip slightly at the mention of finding their mother, her bright demeanor dimming slightly “...great.” she said

Diego was, for the first time in a while, thinking of Lila. He thought of Eudora often, yes- they had dated for almost a year, and she had broken up with him when she found out about his...less than boyfriend-material occupation. Lila, however, had been different- she knew almost everything from the start. They met when she had caught both him and Five...robbing her house.

She had grinned at them and walked up to where Five was shoveling her mother’s possessions into a bag and rolled her eyes 

“She won’t care about this old junk-” She said, “Let me show you where the good stuff is.”

Instantly, Diego was smitten.

According to Klaus, she was his “favorite hookup.” But to Diego, Lila was almost his girlfriend. The problem was that Diego was still a bit hung up on Eudora, Lila and Five absolutely hated each others guts after that first interaction, and, most importantly, he was pretty sure Lila had just dated him to piss off her mother.

They had split and hadn’t seen each other, but he was absolutely sure that Lila would be down to cause any sort of chaos on her mother’s own island. There was the chance of her being absolutely pissed at him, however, and refusing to help them. It was worth the risk, though.

God, he hoped it was.

~

It took them about a day to get to Dalton- that night Diego had made Allison take the bed, insisting that his arm was fine, and he could “Suck it up and sleep on the goddamn floor for once.”

It was miserable, but at least Allison seemed well rested for once.

“Welcome to the island with the highest goddamn crime rates I’ve ever seen,” Allison announced, steering them towards the dock. A deckhand tossed Diego a rope, and they pulled themselves in.

“They’re about to get higher,” Diego said, and Allison let out a short laugh

“Actually, though, we should keep a low profile.” He said, and she nodded

“...no more fires.” She mumbled, before heaving herself off of the boat. She reached out and arm to help Diego out, which he promptly rejected, and got out by himself. Allison huffed but said nothing.

“Alright…” Diego started, looking in his sack for the small amount of coins they had compiled “We’ve got to get more food first.” He said, and Allison nodded

She linked her arm with his, to which Diego rolled his eyes. Allison glared at him before he could protest, though.

“Do you even vaguely remember the layout of Dalton? We didn’t go here all that much.” She asked

Diego really only knew the route from the docks to Lila’s place, so he shook his head “I think Klaus used to come back here a lot.” He said

“Yeah, secret boyfriend.” Allison said, before pausing “...shit, I wasn’t supposed to say that.”

“...do you and Klaus gossip about secret relationships or something?” Diego asked

“...Maybe. I was lying about not knowing the layout, I’ve been here plenty of times.” She said, promptly turning them towards where the marketplace was 

“...Is it that guy that you, me, and Klaus all hooked up with?” He asked, and Allison shook her head quickly

“No. Hell no. It’s not Patrick.” She said

“What’s their name then?” He had decided he wasn’t going to stop pestering her about this- if she wanted to be the “older sister” type, than he could allow himself to be her annoying younger brother, if only for a little bit.

Allison sighed heavily “...Raymond. Ray. His name’s Ray.”

Diego toyed with the idea of telling her about Eudora, but decided against it- Eudora lived on a different island, so if wanted to keep her a secret from Allison a little longer, he could.  
“And does this ‘Ray’ have anything to do with you suddenly wanting to leave with me?” He asked, and Allison stopped. So, he wasn’t the only one hiding his full intentions.

“Maybe? So? Does it matter?” She rambled, and Diego allowed himself to laugh a little at his normally composed, and ever-so-charismatic sister stumbling over her words

“Nah.” He said, and they resumed walking towards whatever stall was selling food for the cheapest amount of money.

They unknowingly walked past an inn, named the “Katz Family Pub and Inn,” narrowly avoiding three of their abandoned siblings.

They walked up to a stall selling dried meats, and Allison walked up to the man running it, dropping Diego’s arm and smiling kindly

“How much?” She asked sweetly, gesturing at a vague assortment of food. Diego knew she was being overly polite to diffuse suspicion, but it was still weird to watch his sister completely switch gears.

The vendor gave the price, and Allison slid a few coins his way, grabbing the food and shoving it into the sack. 

“Thank you.” She said, and when they turned away, she had wiped the smile off of her face

“No one suspects nice people.” She said, and Diego laughed slightly- they weren’t even stealing, and they were still both in pirate mode.

Diego thought back to the conversation he and Allison had had on the boat, while he was slowly easing through his recovery

_“I don’t want to be like this anymore.” Allison had said one night, helping him change the bandages on his arm_

_“Like what?” He asked, and she sighed_

_“Like…” She gestured vaguely “...this. We’ve spent our entire lives hurting people, and getting hurt because dad wanted us to. I don’t want that anymore.”_

_Diego hummed in agreement “We don’t have to do it anymore- the pirate stuff, I mean.” He said_

_“You say, on our stolen boat, with our stolen clothes.” Allison joked, and Diego rolled his eyes_

_“We don’t have to do it anymore, starting at the next island.” He said_

_Allison was quiet for a bit “...I hope you’re right.” She said, finishing up with the bandages_

_“I am- we can do whatever we want now.” He replied, and she just nodded._

_He knew she didn’t believe him, but he sure did- they could do whatever they wanted._

~

“So...does Lila even know we’re coming?” Allison asked, and Diego shook his head

“...great.” Allison sighed “I love how well you plan things.”

Diego huffed, slapping her arm lightly “Shut up,” He said, annoyed

Allison held up her hands in surrender “Just saying.”

Allison...probably had a point. They were dropping in at Lila’s house, which was also the mayor’s house, at a little after three am. He could only hope that she was still the same Lila he remembered and would welcome that kind of weirdness with open arms.

They snuck around to the side of the large house, to the window Diego knew was Lila’s from multiple sneak-ins while they were together.

Diego picked up one of the pebbles from Lila’s mother’s garden, but Allison caught his hand before he could throw it

“Diego, I don’t like this.” She said, “This is the opposite of laying low.” 

“Do you have a better idea?” He asked, and they both waited a moment before Allison sighed

“...fine. But it’s your fault when we get caught.” She said

“I’m willing to take that risk.” Diego shrugged, throwing the pebble at Lila’s window. He waited a moment, before throwing another, and another, until finally, the window opened, and an annoyed looking Lila poked her head out

“Who-” She started angrily before her eyes focused, and she could make out their faces “...Diego?”

“...Hey.” He said awkwardly, ignoring Allison’s stifled laughter

Diego heard Lila mumble something about “too many of them here,” before waving vaguely at the two of them

“Give me a bit, I’ll let you up.”

They waited in silence until the door under the window opened to reveal Lila, looking just the same as he remembered

“Enter at your own risk.” She said, gesturing into the house

Lila closed the door behind them, leaning against it and crossing her arms

“So, long time no see.” She started, and Diego sighed

“You know I couldn’t have stayed even if I wanted to.” He started, and Lila rolled her eyes

“But you didn’t want to.” She said, and Diego suddenly wished the floor would open up and swallow him

Lila huffed “But it’s whatever, I’m not a bitter person-” That was debatable, but Diego let it go “-what do you need?” She asked

“Well, firstly- Allison, Lila, and Lila, Allison-” He said, gesturing vaguely between the two of them “And, secondly, we ditched our dad and need information.”

Lila’s eyes lit up a bit- her interest was obviously peaked, but she stayed leaned against the door

“What kind of information?” She asked

“We need to find someone- our mother.” He said

Lila considered it for a moment “...why should I help you?”

Diego looked at Allison, who just shrugged ever so helpfully. Diego sighed

“You shouldn’t, but we need you to.” He said

Lila paused “...you left without telling me.” 

Diego grunted when Allison slapped him on the arm, and he elbowed her back- she didn’t get to have an opinion when she didn’t know the full story.

“And I’m sorry, and that’s why you shouldn’t help us, and all I have to offer you is just a ‘please.’”

Lila was silent again “...you know, that’s all I really wanted to hear- come on.” She said eventually, before shoving past them into her house

Diego looked at Allison and shrugged, before following behind Lila.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this chapter is super late because my mental health is *~plummeting~*, but I hope it's still good lol. They're trying their best.


	7. Not an update, so sorry

Hi, all! 

So, this is a quick psa (annoying, I know, I faked you out) that, uh...I am sorry.

So! As of 11-1-20, my laptop is broken, and I am writing this from my phone. What this means is that updating this story just got a lot harder, which is just...upsetting, because I had been planning on taking October off to focus on school (high school=difficult) and my mental health, and I had been hoping to be able to give y’all something by this week.

There is a chance I will be able to update through my phone, but writing on my phone is very difficult, and editing is even more difficult, so I can’t make any promises about the quality of any chapters or if they’ll even come to fruition.

This does not mean this fic is over- I have so much more plot that I want to share with y’all, and that I’m ready to share- I just need to get my computer fixed, and there’s no telling how long that could take.

Again, I am very sorry! I am trying very hard, and I hope you all can forgive me. I promise this story isn’t over- I will hand write this shit and send it by messenger pigeon if I have to.

So sorry about the fake out, I just wanted to let y’all know what’s going on.

Stay safe,  
Lee


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